Guide a first timer - how do I make a stir fry?

[Anonymous]

Link recipes or chefs please. Tips welcome.

[Anonymous]

Are you looking for authentic or easy? I can help you with easy. Buy a packet of Sunbird Stir Fry seasoning (found in your grocery store’s spice aisle or Asian aisle). Prepare 1 1/2 C (precooked) rice ahead of time and then refrigerate so you can start with cold rice. Cook your meat or vegetables first in vegetable oil (add a dash of sesame oil for some flavor) on med-high heat, then add cold rice and seasoning packet to wok, sprinkle liberally with soy sauce, mix everything thoroughly, and then fry it all up together, stirring occasionally.

[Anonymous]

Cut all your vegetables up into the same size pieces

Mix up soy sauce, grated ginger, garlic, seasme oil, vinegar, sugar and MSG. Add some water then thicken with corn starch.

Stir fry!

[Anonymous]

Don’t overcrowd your pan.

[Anonymous]

Use a wok.

Everything else is secondary, you will never, ever make a great stir fry without a wok.

H-Mart has perfectly decent ones that fit on a gas stove for like $20.

[Anonymous]

keep your pan hot, hot, hot. Cook in batches if you need to. Add the sauce at the end (otherwise you're steaming not frying your veggies).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you looking for authentic or easy? I can help you with easy. Buy a packet of Sunbird Stir Fry seasoning (found in your grocery store’s spice aisle or Asian aisle). Prepare 1 1/2 C (precooked) rice ahead of time and then refrigerate so you can start with cold rice. Cook your meat or vegetables first in vegetable oil (add a dash of sesame oil for some flavor) on med-high heat, then add cold rice and seasoning packet to wok, sprinkle liberally with soy sauce, mix everything thoroughly, and then fry it all up together, stirring occasionally.

This is fried rice, not stir fry...

[Anonymous]

Hand-hammered steel wok. Essential.

[Anonymous]

Get a copy of this book:

https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393541212

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hand-hammered steel wok. Essential.

Where do you get this?

[Anonymous]

The key is prepping everything ahead of time - protein, vegetables, sauces/marinades. Have everything laid out and ready in front of you because the actual cooking goes pretty quickly. I like to start my rice so that it will be nearly done by the time I start stir-frying.

[Anonymous]

This is a favorite at our house - easy too!

https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/moo-goo-gai-pan/

[Anonymous]

What are the best vegetables to include? Does Trader Joe’s have any good go to sauces?

[Anonymous]

I start by frying the tofu then I add whatever veggies I have one hand. Some regulars are broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas, green beans, eggplant, kale or another leafy green and peppers. I fry in a hot pan and then add my own stir fry sauce (2 parts soy sauce, 1 part sesame oil, then an appropriate amount of ginger garlic paste, red pepper flakes and a bit of cornstarch so it coats everything).

[Anonymous]

J. Kenji López-Alt Breaks Down the Science of Stir-Fry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KNlXt0u_5o&ab_channel=WIRED

Stiry fry recipes from Serious Eats
https://www.seriouseats.com/stir-fry-recipes

Three core stir-frying techniques (feat. J Kenji Lopez-Alt), from Chinese Cooking Demystified Youtube channel - great channel that covers authentic Chinese cooking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6JE7W8Z6Hs&ab_channel=ChineseCookingDemystified

A PP already linked Kenji's book on cooking with a wok. You can research hand-hammered steel woks online for brands, The Wok Shop out of San Francisco is popular.